The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-02-02

state of more Salutary subordination,. it
would have become prrniciouS to the KING
and people, and even 10 itself, ana nave
brought The land To that state of iaclion an9
| civil warfare from which the SaXonS hai
rescued it. The NOrmalS-a people VINO hau
refinement, education. .cullnrc-had the power
TO cOnuucr England when one Of her strong
est men WAS 1T her head made her submit 10
their laws and rrgulatiun,-docS ii not look
reasonable then that they should shape her
national character" They hiu Wise n@";'u>, @
and strong arms 10 enforce their la" Inc c
lay power whose force has been iclt through
centuries H., :.
Nornlans made England what she is
tOGay, an educated. cnhS htcn"d, clviiiHrd
nation. There WAS England, Il great dumb,
dead nation hut, as YOU say, it hai lhe germs
of liberty and freedom there; II SO tlicS
were hid in poverty and barbriSm, conr@iicd
under iOw-r0Oird houses, filled with smoke,
Slumbcrimg i'm disorder riu ,and intcmpcranct;
but the NOrmaaS came, and made thlSa NOV
ing, working people put life INTO 'htlr VEINS,
tore down their wrrtchcd novels anu Dn,lI
stately castles, substituted law, for us
+ order and riot. Those germs, OF which you
speak would never have brcA drvclopeu-at
best il would have been but Stunted ana
dwartCd growth. Saxon influence and power
would never have extended beyond the mar
row limits of their sea-boInd iSlaEd Nor
mans came bringing new IDEAS, ana new
forms of government and combined them
with those fast dying germs, and formed the
powerful English nation, whose power
and influence is felt all over the world
giving hope to the oppressed and liberty
to the slave, carrying is arts and sciences,
/ its culture and civilization into me
jun"lcS of India, even into the heart OF the
burning desert. Drydcn'S famous stanza ON
! Milton might with Il little change be applieu
! to the English nation.
! Nature hal exhausted herself, and so, to form
q bettcr-than'all,, the Enslishmian slnni. thnS nus
i"rmcI, she mmitGd ana All Lo EfenIn IL nnr, now iw
crful than any Of the parts; his culture,
literature, laws and civilization are more per.
feet than these of Athens; his dominion
stretches itself farther than that of Rome.
The growth of English liberty and power is
due To the Normans, and every historian
comedies the fact.
Grant for Il moment tlat thc saxon, ulu
have the germs of liberty in them. yet they
would never have grown into any thing II II
had not been for the NurnanS. That is, the
NurnAnS gave. shape, definite iorln, ana nc
to all English liberties and laws Sn the poet
Campbell speaking OF the Norman influence
says:
.'Thcy h'gh-mcttlcd the blood in our veins"
They found nothing hut gross iron ore
there and out of ii they made pure blue St"c'.
They found q wild, unruiy, rlotious saxon,
sunk III barbariSm. and converted nm
into an Englisliman, with al that name
implies. The Norman influence upon
England can best he shown by Il
few figures. Which is the more pow
crfuh and which makes the statue,
the marble, or the sculptor who carvcS
out of il some beautiful shape: which made
the statue, the material or he that shaped ~ !;
which is The greater, the canvas, ana tiie
paint, or he who traces Il lovely picture: IS
the clay greater than the potter? do the ink
and paper or the poet form the poem? Yet
these figures do not rightly show what Il
tremendous influence the NormanS cXcrcis-
cd in forming The English nation. The Saxon
did not SO much contribute to the forming Of
the English aS do the paint and canvas in
forming II picture Tie Norinans did moi
change the character of the English people,
but they made the character.